Author Notes: hey readers, I decided to enter this story into the 2019 Naruto Watty Awards for Yaoi. So please vote or continue to nominate me as I appreciate it!

Chapter Thirteen: chunin exams

A month had passed since Team Seven's mission to the wave. Things seemed to return back to normal as Zabuza and Haku became ninja of the leaf. Itachi taught the two about the various demon races that lived in the village. They also learned about the ranking system arranged by the demons. Zabuza was ranked as an Alpha while Haku was ranked as a Beta. Both former mist ninja seemed to adjust well in the leaf as they became full ninja as they were recognized throughout the leaf village. Zabuza made friends with Anko Mitarashi and Ibiki Morino as Zabuza was offered job and position within the Torture and Interrogation Squad.

Kakashi had meet his team at their training grounds as he had the forms for them all to compete in the up coming chunin exams.

"I believe that you all have what it takes to become chunin as you all have come really far. Especially you Sakura, as you are no longer the same fan girl who used to fawn over and obsess over Sasuke. I am so proud to be your sensei as I look forward to see if any of you can become chunin. Especially you Naruto, as it will mean that your closer to achieving your dream to become Hokage." A bright smile crossed Naruto's face as you could tell that he was hyped up about the upcoming chunin exams as he hoped to see Gaara. He missed the Tanuki omega whom was his first and only friend.

The day came as Team Seven entered the ninja academy with their slips in hand. When they reached the second level, the group could see two ninja in a genjustu disguise making some of the ninja think that they were trying to stop them from going into the room that read 301. Team Seven managed to get past the group heading up to the third level. They found their sensei waiting for them outside the classroom that was holding the chunin exams.

"I am proud that you all have managed to make it past the first obstacle. From here on, your trials are going to get much harder. But I have faith that you will managed to push through it in order to achieve your dreams." Kakashi stated as he moved out of the way allowing his team to enter the room.

Team Seven entered the classroom to find ninjas from the other ninja villages as they all ranged in various ages. All of the rookies from the leaf village were participating in the exams. Naruto could see a familiar red head with the tail and ears of a raccoon.

"Gaara!" Naruto called out as he ran up to hug the omega. Gaara returned the hug.

"It's good to see you Naruto as it seems that you and Sasuke have mated and you have earned several tails." stated Gaara causing Naruto to blush.

"Yeah...... Have you had any potential mates yet?" asked Naruto causing Gaara to shake his head no.

"Demons are very rare in the sand so, there is a chance that I will never truly find your mate eventually." replied Gaara.

"All right listen up you maggots! I am your proctor for the first part of the chunin exams Ibiki Morino. I want you all to come up and turn in your forms. You will receive a number which matches a seat in this room. All of the ninja did as instructed as none of team members where together. In front of the genin was a piece of paper. "You will be given one hour to answer the nine questions in front of you and just before the time is up, I will ask you the tenth and final question. You will all start with 100 points. If you are caught cheating that two points will be taken away from you. If you are caught cheating five times everyone on your team is disqualified and will be asked to leave. There will be chunin watching you while you take the exam." Ibiki stated as a couple of chunin waved their hands. Ibiki then he glanced at the clock. "Your time starts now!"

The genin flipped the test over to find that the questions were next to impossible to answer unless you were extremely smart. So most of the ninja had to result in cheating but, the key to passing was not to get caught. Some of the ninja mostly the demons were able to do it without getting caught as they used their keen sight and hearing. Other ninja's used their tools and/or jutsu's . Fourty-Five minutes had passed as the numbers had dwindled down but Ibiki wanted to cut their numbers down even more.

"Before I ask the tenth and final question, be aware that it is a pass or fail question. If you choose to answer the question and get it wrong, you are not allowed to take the exams ever again. If you choose to forfeit, this will also disqualify the rest of your team. You will not be able to hear the question but if you chose to resign, you and your team are allowed to come back and try again next year." Ibiki stated. With the option in play teams began to resign. Ibiki's goal was to cut as many teams as possible. The tenth question was an imitation tactic to see if the genin were truly ready and willing to become chunin.

With ten minutes remaining on the clock Ibiki looked over to see about sixty people remained. Most of the ninja seemed anxious to hear the tenth question. No other contestants seemed to budge.

"Congratulations....... You all pass!" stated Ibiki causing some of the ninjas to roar out wondering about the tenth question. Ibiki explained that the true purpose of this test was to gather information without getting caught and to see if they were willing to risk everything. He showed them all the scars that he had on his head from being interrogated by enemies while on missions. "There will be times that you will have to risk your life to prevent information from falling into enemy hands and to gain information from your enemies without getting caught."

Suddenly the window by Ibiki shattered as a blur shot into the room. A female with spiky purple hair stood in front of Ibiki with a sign that read "The sexy and single Anko Mitarashi has arrived!"

"All right everyone...... I am the proctor for the second part of the exam, Anko Mitarashi!" You could hear a pin drop or crickets chirping with how quite the room got after Anko's introduction.

"You are early Anko." growled Ibiki as he pulled down the banner. Anko looked at the remaining students as she let a soft whistle.

"It seems you are loosing your touch." stated Anko.

"What can I say? It seems that we have a good group of candidates this year." replied Ibiki.

"Well by the time I am done with them. I will have these numbers cut in half." Anko replied with a smirk stretched across her face. "All right listen up........ Everyone is to meet me at Training grounds 44 in one hour. Any one who is late is disqualified!"